


When Lies Come Every Day

by SydelleRein



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Bullying, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Harassment, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Marichat, Protective Adrien Agreste, Protective Chat Noir, Reveal, sometimes you need a friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-10-29 11:43:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17807372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SydelleRein/pseuds/SydelleRein
Summary: It had been weeks, but Lila was relentless. She’d promised to make Marinette’s life miserable, and as it turned out, she had proven herself more exceptionally skilled in that area than even Chloe Bourgeois. It's hard not to believe lies when you hear them every day. Sometimes you need a friend to remind you who you really are.





	1. Lies

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction. I can't believe how much I like this show, but I really do. I'm a sucker for a good reveal plot. Anyway. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Lies**

****

Marinette drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead against them, trying to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall for far too long. She was so tired. So done. 

“You can’t let her get to you, Marinette,” Tikki encouraged. The kwami pressed her cheek against the girl’s.

A ping from beside her announced a new text message. She tightened her grip around her legs, shying away slightly from the phone. Was that girl ever going to _stop?_ Marinette wondered desperately. It had been weeks, but Lila was relentless. She’d promised to make Marinette’s life miserable, and as it turned out, she had proven herself more exceptionally skilled in that area than even Chloe Bourgeois.

“I can’t help it, Tikki,” Marinette admitted. “Just…let me be for a bit, please.”

“I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

“Just—I need some space. Please.”

Tikki floated for a moment, then planted a soft kiss on her forehead before fading down below again.

Marinette regretted sending her friend away almost immediately. She already felt so alone, but there was nothing Tikki could do. The more she tried to banish those hateful, spiteful words, the more they chased themselves around Marinette’s head.

Another ping.

She let herself go, pulling herself into an even tighter ball and finally releasing all the pain she’d been fighting. She tried to keep her sobs quiet. She didn’t want to wake her parents, after all. They’d only worry. And when they got worried, they got meddlesome, which would not help right now. She had to deal with this, herself.

If only she knew how.

***

Chat Noir knew he should probably be heading home, but the empty mansion was far from welcoming. It had stopped feeling like home a long time ago. It was odd, but he felt more comfortable leaping through the night sky, jumping from rooftop to rooftop under the moon’s light. Out here there was no oppressive _presence_ that was his father. Even when his father was locked away on one of his in-depth projects like he’d been the past several days, he still…loomed.

Out here, in the cold, night, Parisian air, he was free.

No trying to please his father, or Nathalie. No schedules or photographers. No responsibilities—unless someone was akumitized. It was…nice.

It had been two days since the last Akuma attack: a disgruntled sculptor who had transformed people into clay statues. A small frown tugged at him, thinking back to that day. Something had seemed off with Ladybug. She’d been more…agitated. More aggressive and short-tempered than usual. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she was trying to prove something. He’d tried to talk to her, but she’d brushed him off. It stung a little bit. But he was used to her private nature. Anything that had anything to do with her civilian life she kept bottled up, lest he discover her true identity.

Well, nothing to do about that now. She’d seemed well enough. Whatever it was, she was strong. She’d be all right.

For now, he intended to hold on to his freedom a little longer before sneaking back home. His father wouldn’t notice. And Plagg would understand. He’d give him an extra slice of camembert tonight, which always made him more agreeable.

As he landed from another jump, he noticed a familiar rooftop aglow with light to his left. Was Marinette still awake? It was passed midnight. Maybe she was working on one of her projects. She often worked into the night if she got on an inspirational streak, he’d learned. He grinned, perking up in happy expectation. It would be nice to chat with her for a little while. Hopefully she wouldn’t mind the interruption. His heart thudded a little too quickly at the thought, which as usual, he did his best to ignore. Ladybug was his _chérie._

He curved around, marking out a rooftop pathway that would bring him closer to her home. At last, he was able to alight on the roof behind her, and when he did he froze.

Marinette was crying.

And not little sniffles. She was curled up in a ball so tight it was like she wanted to disappear—face buried in her knees, whole body shaking.

Chat Noir’s mouth dropped open in a desperate search for words, but his throat stuck and he wilted in uncertainty. Should he tell her he was here? Leave, and give her privacy? He was at a loss. He didn’t exactly have a lot of positive examples in his life on how to deal with these kinds of situations. He wanted to jump down there, hold her, tell her everything would be all right. But what was wrong? He’d seen her just a few hours ago at Alya’s picnic. She’d seemed fine then. Hadn’t she?

He took in a breath.

“Hey.”

She jumped instantly, turning around with surprisingly deft reflexes. Her blue eyes were quite blood-shot. She’d clearly been up here for a while.

“Chat Noir!” she managed thickly. She whipped around so her back was to him, wiping her eyes frantically. He saw her shoulders shake a couple more times, but she somehow managed to pull herself together. When she turned around again, she was even smiling a little. “What are you doing here?”

He hesitated, then jumped down, landing lightly next to her in a crouched position so they were at eye level. “What is it, Marinette?” he asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said, waving his concern away and laughing in a far-too-convincing way, as far as Chat was concerned. “I’m just blowing off some steam. What are you out here for tonight? I haven’t heard of any Akuma victims today.”

He was not to be swayed. He leaned forward until his face was uncomfortably close to hers—causing her to lean back slightly. “Marinette,” he insisted, “please, tell me.”

Her hasty composure began to crack, then broke like a floodgate. The tears were back. Chat sat and pulled her into his arms, holding her as she cried into his chest. The whole time, he racked his brain for anything that might have caused this strong of a reaction in his normally sunny friend, but he came up empty.

Gradually, Marinette quieted, and she stilled in his arms. Even after the tears stopped, he continued to hold her, and she made no move to pull away.

Her phone pinged, sitting on the ground next to them. He felt Marinette’s whole body stiffen at the sound, and her breath came in sharply. She turned her face into his chest, putting the phone out of any chance of sight.

Chat didn’t push this time, but waited. Eventually, she pulled back, wiping her eyes again with the back of her hand. He wished he had some sort of handkerchief, or tissue, or something. But his suit didn’t exactly leave room to tote around any such items.

“It’s nothing,” she answered his long-ago question.

“It’s not nothing,” he protested.

She was silent for a stretch, her knees were pulled up in front of her again as she sat next to him, but at least she didn’t look like she was trying to disappear anymore. “There’s a girl at my school,” she said at last. “She’s…decided she likes making me miserable.”

Alarm bells went off in the back of Chat’s head. A girl at school? Chloe liked making Marinette’s life difficult sometimes, he knew…but Marinette always brushed her off.

“Who?” he demanded.

“It doesn’t matter.” And Chat couldn’t think of a way to protest. Marinette didn’t know that he went to her school. She didn’t know that he would know whatever unknown bully had entered her life. She didn’t know that he was even now making plans to hunt this person down and demand an explanation of why they were hurting the most kind-hearted person in the entire school. 

“If it doesn’t matter, then tell me,” he finally landed on.

She tightened up again, then slumped into herself in defeat. “Her name is Lila.” 

Chat Noir stiffened. Lila was a lot of things—deceptive and manipulative being at the top of the list. He’d known she and Marinette had butted heads a few times, mostly because Marinette couldn’t stand her friends being lied to, even as they ate up those fake stories like macaroons. Lila did not take kindly to being challenged. But…what could she have done in retaliation?

The phone pinged again. Chat jumped, suddenly glaring at it in suspicion. 

“No wait--!” Marinette exclaimed when he reached for it, practically jumping across him. He beat her to it, holding it out so she couldn’t snatch it back. She slumped, and made no further move to stop him. He looked long and hard at her. Her face was bowed, and red, and dismally miserable.

He hesitated another long moment, not wanting to see what had caused all of this. Maybe it would be better to throw the phone into the Seine. But that wouldn’t fix whatever this was.

Chat tapped the phone, bringing up the home screen. It was locked, of course.

“Um…Marinette?” Please, he thought, let me help you. Let me in.

She drew herself into a tighter ball. “2385,” she consented.

No turning back now. He tapped in the password. There were eleven unread messages on the notification screen, all from an unknown number. As he reached to open them, it pinged to twelve.

He began to read, leaning farther forward with every message he scrolled through.

_You plaster that fake smile of yours on and even your best friend can’t tell the difference._

_Who’d you try to tell today? Oh that’s right, you’ve given up, haven’t you? Smart._

_No one notices because no one cares._

_You’re stupid and fake and everyone knows it._

They kept going. Dozens of messages a day. He scrolled back, stopping every now and then to read another. Some were generic. Some were…specific. _Great job tripping over your own feet in class today. Right in front of everyone. People will notice you now._ Poisonous, hateful words filled Marinette’s phone.

His fury burned hotter when his own name came up. _You can’t even get two sentences out in front of Adrien. Probably for the best. If he could understand you he’d never stop laughing._

Her other friends were cited too: they didn’t care about her; they were secretly laughing at her; they’d be better off without her; they’d be happier without her—except then they’d have no source of amusement. 

There were videos too. He didn’t click to play them, but from the freeze frames he could place most of them. This one was when Marinette had tripped during lunch. It was accompanied by a nasty comment of her klutziness and how much work she’d just made for other people to clean up her mess. And this one…well that was from one of the many times Marinette had stumbled through a flustered response to something _he_ had said.

With a huff of fury, Adrien slammed the phone down, glaring at it as if it could rectify all those hateful words. He took Marinette’s hands in his own shaking hands, voice tight in his throat. “None of it is true,” he managed.

“It doesn’t matter,” she repeated those hated words.

His grip tightened. “Yes it does!” he shouted. That got her to look at him, finally, but only to immediately shush him, looking anxiously towards the door. “Marinette, don’t listen to her!” he ordered, somewhat more quietly. “You’re incredible! You are brave, and strong, and kind, and intelligent, and creative. You look after _everyone!_ None of this is true! People _care_ about you.”

Marinette sighed, clearly not taking those words in.

“You don’t believe me,” he noted.

She paused. “You…don’t really know me,” she pointed out, pulling her hands free. “We’ve spoken, what, a handful of times?”

His jaw actually fell open in shock as he was jerked back to reality. He’d momentarily forgotten. He wasn’t Adrien right now. He was Chat Noir. Had he said anything incriminating? He forged ahead. “And even in those few times I know what kind of person you are.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Marinette, please. Don’t give her the satisfaction of getting to you.”

She slowly shook her head. “I tried not to,” she confessed. “But…when you hear those things every day, it’s hard not to believe them.”

Every day. “Just how long has this been going on?” he asked, afraid of the answer.

“It doesn’t—”

“And if you say it doesn’t matter one more time—” he cut off before he could even think of a reasonable threat. She looked up at him again, shocked at his outburst. Then she shrugged.

“About a month.”

His breath came in a sharp intake. A month. _A month?_ Marinette had been enduring this bully for a _month_ and he hadn’t noticed _anything?_ And neither had Alya. Or Nino. Or anyone else. Lila had been clear enough on that front in her messages outlying how no one cared enough about this sweet girl to notice something was wrong.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he whispered.

“I…tried at first. But my friends are convinced Lila’s the greatest person in the world. She only ever confronts me when I’m alone. And I didn’t want to show them the messages. It’s too embarrassing.”

She’d tried. She’d _tried._ And he hadn’t listened. None of them had. He should have listened. Should have paid attention. Should have noticed something, _anything._

“I’m so sorry,” he said at last.

“It’s not your fault. It’s not like you’re there.” But he was. Every day he was there. She just didn’t know it.

I’m so sorry, Marinette, he repeated in the safety of his own head. I promise, I’ll do better. We’ll make this right.


	2. Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila's up to her tricks and Adrien isn't happy.

**Chapter 2: Confrontations**

Adrien tapped his pen nervously against his desk, glancing repeatedly at the clock on the wall as it ticked closer and closer to the start of the school day. 

“Dude, what’s got you so agitated?” Nino asked, pulling out his book and accidentally scattering a bunch of loose papers in the process.

Adrien forced his hands to still. “Didn’t sleep well last night,” he said, omitting the real answer. Class would start any moment, and Marinette was late. Of course, she was late a lot, so he wouldn’t have thought much of it. Except…Lila was late too.

Just before the bell rang, Lila slipped into the classroom and took her seat at the back of the room. “Hi everyone!” she greeted pleasantly. The class chorused enthusiastic greetings, but Adrien’s eyes narrowed and he said nothing. Ms. Bustier started class, but Adrien had trouble paying any attention to what she was saying. He was on the verge of raising his hand to ask to use the bathroom—but instead to actually look for Marinette—when the girl in question tumbled through the door. She emitted a squeak when all eyes turned her direction. She was covered with water all down her front.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng,” the teacher scolded, “if you’re going to be late, you can at least enter _without_ being a distraction to the entire class.”

“Sorry, Ms. Bustier,” she managed, blushing furiously, and scurrying to her seat next to Alya.

Adrien turned in his seat to look at her “Are you all right, Marinette?” he asked.

“Mr. Agreste, pay attention please.”

He swiveled forward. “Yes, Ms. Bustier,” he echoed. His eyes flickered backwards, but he couldn’t see Marinette sitting right behind him without turning and drawing attention to himself.

“Girl, what happened to you?” he heard Alya whisper.

“Who me? The fountain water—I mean the water fountain! Me sprayed when broke—I mean the water fountain’s broke—it sprayed me,” she trailed off…and Alya only chuckled in response.

“You have the worst luck of anyone I’ve ever seen,” she said playfully. Marinette noticeably didn’t answer, and Adrien felt sick. He chanced a glance back at Lila—a somewhat more manageable feet due to her being in the back corner instead of directly behind him. She looked rather pleased with herself.

He looked forward again, trying to focus on what Ms. Bustier was saying. Marinette was safe, for now. Lila couldn’t do anything during class. 

As if to directly challenge him, he heard the soft ping of a phone behind him.

“Girl,” Alya hissed, after Ms. Bustier’s glare in their direction, “turn your phone off!”

“Sorry!”

***

The morning passed in a blur. Adrien couldn’t concentrate on his school work even a little bit, much to Nino’s mix of concern and amusement. Then, when Nino caught him staring at Marinette for the third time, he seemed to think he’d figured it all out.

“Dude!” he exclaimed suddenly, then he lowered his voice to a conspiracy-worthy tone. “It’s about time.”

“What?” Adrien asked, startled out of his dark thoughts, but Nino didn’t elaborate. He just smirked and packed up for lunch.

The day passed mostly without incident, even to Adrien’s watchful eyes. But it was clear that Marinette was not her happy self. She’d smile and laugh, but when she thought no one was paying attention, she shrunk in on herself. During one such moment, she looked up and caught him looking at her. She squeaked in surprise. Smiled, waved a little too largely, bumped into Alya, blushed, then hid herself behind her book and stayed there. 

A moment later her phone pinged again.

“I thought you turned that off,” Alya said.

“I _did.”_

Adrien kept his eyes planted forward from then on. He knew Marinette got flustered around him. And he didn’t want to give Lila any more ammunition.

The end of the day could not have come soon enough. Adrien felt helpless the entire time, and could only imagine how Marinette felt. The four of them—him, Marinette, Nino, and Alya—left school together like usual.

“Eep!” Marinette squeaked. Adrien turned instantly to her. She had her hands held in front of her in distress. Then she groaned and hung her head quickly before rising up with chagrinned look on her face. “I forgot my bag,” she confessed, tapping her fingers together.

“Seriously, girl?” Alya asked. “You have been so scatter-brained recently.”

“I should go back and get it,” Marinette looked back at the school, not looking very pleased at the prospect.

“Can’t you leave it until tomorrow?”

“No,” she said immediately. Then sighed. “I can’t.”

“Ok. Well I gotta get home to babysit the twins. See you tomorrow?”

“Um…” she looked nervously between Alya and the school, then plastered that fake smile on her face that Adrien had gotten too used to seeing today. “Of course! See you all tomorrow! Have a good night!” she waved to them all and ran back towards the school.

“Bye guys,” Alya called as well, and walked off towards her home.

“So what do you say?” Nino asked Adrien. “Skull Crusher tonight? I’ve been practicing and I am going to _thrash_ you. Adrien?” Adrien barely registered Nino’s words; he wasn’t paying attention. He was staring after Marinette who was just disappearing behind the school’s main doors. He finally jerked out of his reverie when Nino waved his hand in front of his face. “Dude, you’ve got it bad, huh?” Nino teased.

“What?” Adrien blinked stupidly, turning to his friend, then back towards school.

“Go, man,” Nino said with a knowing smirk, nodding towards school. Adrien finally realized that Nino didn’t see how concerned he was. He just saw his friend mooning over a pretty girl. He was just as clueless as Adrien had been until last night.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Adrien called, running after Marinette.

***

How could she have been so stupid? Marinette scolded herself, finally reaching her locker. She threw it open, only to pause. Her bag wasn’t where she had left it.

“Tikki?” she whispered. She opened the surrounding lockers, wondering if maybe she’d stashed it in the wrong one, by accident. Nothing.

“Looking for this?”

Marinette froze, then slowly turned around. There was the last person in the world she wanted to see. Though she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t half-expected this the moment she realized she’d have to go back to school on her own. But then she tensed up for an entirely unexpected reason.

Lila had her bag slung over her arm, yes, but in her hand she held Marinette’s sketchbook.

“Give it back, Lila,” Marinette demanded weakly.

Lila ignored her, and instead flipped through the book. “I can’t believe you really want to be a designer,” Lila commented. “These are…well. Not exactly something you’d see in a fashion magazine, are they?” She paused at one page in particular, studying it from a sideways angle, and then ripped it out of the book.

Marinette let out a squeak of outrage. But before she could even think about leaping forward to snatch it back, Lila had tossed away the paper and flipped to another page.

“Adrien Agreste, hm?” she asked, and Marinette shrunk again. She’d found one of her sketches of him. “Does he know how much you…study him?” she smirked.

“Give it back,” Marinette said again.

“Or what?” Lila asked. “No one wants to see these chicken scratches of yours, anyway. What’s the big deal?” she continued to flip through the pages. “Oh, I see Chat Noir’s in here too. You have quite a thing for blondes, don’t you?”

Marinette was blushing scarlet by now, but she had bigger concerns than her sketchbook, private though it was. Lila still had her bag, and inside her bag was Tikki. Marinette leapt forward and snatched for it, but Lila deftly stepped out of the way. Marinette could almost swear the girl had retained some of her Vulpina agility even after being de-akumitized.

“Stop it, Lila,” an unexpected voice called form the door. Marinette jumped sky high at the sound. The next thing she knew, Adrien was strolling into the locker room and putting his arm around Marinette’s shoulders, positioning them so he was standing slightly in between the two girls. “Give Marinette her bag back. And her sketchbook.”

Lila, for the first time in a long time that Marinette could remember, looked surprised.

“Oh Adrien, don’t think so meanly of me. Marinette and I are having fun. We’re just teasing around, aren’t we, Mari?”

Marinette felt herself shrinking again, unable to respond in her humiliation.

“And don’t think so little of _me,”_ Adrien countered. “I’m not stupid. You’ve been tormenting Marinette for weeks.” Marinette quietly gasped. How had he known that? “She doesn’t deserve this.”

Lila pouted in sudden irritation. “That little brat calls me horrible names,” she informed him, then took on a good imitation of a wounded puppy. “She’s called me a liar in front of everyone. She’s _so_ mean. She embarrasses me. I don’t know why she does it.”

Adrien’s grip tightened. She could feel him shaking slightly. _“Marinette_ is the sweetest person in this entire school,” he snapped back. “She’s kind, and honest. _You_ are a beastly, lying bully!” Marinette had never heard Adrien sound so angry before.

Lila’s feigned hurt evaporated with a humph. She strode right up to him, ignoring Marinette for the moment.

“You think she’s honest?” she asked him. “Ask her where she was for the last akuma attack.” Marinette stiffened. Surely not. She couldn’t possibly know. _“I_ wasn’t turned into a statue, like everyone else,” Lila tossed her hair. “Marinette _claims_ she was a statue, but I know she’s lying because I was there and there was no sign of _her._ She ran off in the middle of the attack and no one saw her again.” She turned to Marinette. “So how about it, Marinette? Where were you?”

Adrien was not to be baited. “I’ll take her word over yours, any day.” 

Lila humphed again in her annoyance, but she recovered quickly. “Whatever,” she consented. “One day her lies will be found out. And you’ll know I was right about her all along.” She tossed the bag at their feet, then confidently strode from the room.

“And the sketchbook,” Adrien demanded.

Lila looked back from the doorway. “What sketchbook?” she winked and walked out.

Adrien growled low in his throat—a sound that made Marinette’s hair stand on edge. He released her and made to go after Lila.

“Just leave it,” Marinette begged. She was too humiliated. She just wanted this all to be over with. Of all the people to witness this, why did it have to be Adrien?

For a moment, Adrien’s anger turned on her. _“What?”_ he demanded, and Marinette cringed away. He softened immediately, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Sorry. But…Marinette, _why?”_

“It’s not important,” she protested. His face darkened again at her words. “Please, I just want to go home. I don’t care about that book.”

“Yes you do!” Adrien countered, gesturing wildly. “I’ve seen you with it! You get enraptured with your drawings. Your designs are in there!”

“They’re not that good anyway,” Marinette protested. “I can make more. It’s not worth it.”

“You mean _you’re_ not worth it,” Adrien interpreted, brows drawing down in irritation again, “don’t you?” Marinette hung her head, cheeks filling with red shame again. “Marinette, that’s not true. Why do you let her do this to you?”

She drew her fists tight. “I don’t _let_ her,” she countered with as much feeling as she could muster. She could feel her eyes start to water again and she hated herself for it. She didn’t want to cry. Not in front of Adrien. She didn’t want to cry at _all._ She hung her head and tried to will the tears away.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien relented. “Of course you don’t. But Marinette, _you_ are worth fighting for. Do you have any idea how much you mean to everyone?” he asked. “How much you mean to me?” Why was it so hard for her to hear those words? Marinette wondered. How much she’d given to hear them a month ago. “You fight for everyone,” he continued. “I wish you’d fight for yourself, too.”

He went suddenly and inexplicably still. Marinette chanced a look up at him. He was still staring at her, blinking mutely with the loose posture and wide eyes of sudden enlightenment.

“Marinette,” he asked. “What would you do if Lila was doing this to someone else?” he asked quickly. “Anyone else?”

“Huh?”

“Think about everyone you’ve helped—everyone you’ve protected from bullies and disappointments. What if Lila was hurting them? What if Lila was sending all those terrible messages to Alya? If she was making Alya feel unloved and worthless?”

Marinette looked down, those words hitting her hard. What would she do if it was someone else? she mused. She tried to imagine Alya being treated this way. Or Mylene or Juleka. It made her furious.

And…honestly, she knew _exactly_ what she would do.

Oh dear. _Oh dear._

Eyes suddenly dry, Marinette drew herself up in a burst of determination, then strode after Lila. 

She caught the girl on the steps leading away from the school. “Lila!” she called. Lila stopped, and looked back in surprise. “Give me back my sketchbook.”

Lila put her hand on her hip. “Or what?” she demanded.

Marinette stormed down the steps. Don’t back down, don’t back down, she told herself. It’s Alya’s notebook, not yours. Don’t let Lila bully Alya.

“I’m not what you say I am,” Marinette told her firmly. “I’m not weak, and I’m not stupid. I have friends who care about me. And I’m done letting you tell me who I am. You can send me all the poisonous messages you want, but I won’t be reading any of them. So go ahead and waste your time. And I’m taking my notebook _back.”_ She jumped for the book. Lila held it away, expecting her to pull back, but she didn’t. The two collided together. And pulling a little on her Ladybug reflexes, Marinette ducked under the off-balanced Lila’s left arm and grabbed for the book from her right.

Lila pushed her off a moment later. “Freak!” she shouted. “Take your sketchbook then! It doesn’t change anything.”

Marinette didn’t offer a response. She turned on her heal and marched back up the steps, passed a wide-eyed Adrien, and through the school doors.

Adrien came in at her heels. The moment the door closed, Marinette sat down hard on the floor. “I can’t feel my legs,” she confessed, heart thumping rapidly.

Adrien squatted in front of her until they were at eye level, grinning. “You were _brilliant,”_ he told her. 

Marinette managed a small smile, what felt like the first real one in a long time, and looked up.

Meeting his green eyes as he crouched in front of her, she froze. After a long moment’s silent shock, her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened.

“It’s ok,” Adrien chuckled, incorrectly interpreting her movements. “You did good. And you’re not alone. We’ll get through this.” She managed a squeak, and then fell silent. 

Adrien walked her home, and Marinette could barely bring herself to say a word the entire time in the light of her new realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small step on the road to healing. One more chapter to go! Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~Syd


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir checks in on Marinette and gets more than he bargained for.

**Chapter Three: Revelations**

He was Chat Noir again. And this time, he approached Marinette’s balcony with far more trepidation, not knowing what he’d find. He was proud of her, for standing up for herself today. One day couldn’t possibly undo weeks of torment, but it was a good start. He hoped she was proud of herself, too.

She was on the balcony again. This time, though, she was standing at the railing and staring out over the city, not crying in a tight ball, which seemed like a good sign. He alighted on the perch behind her, same as he had last night.

“Hi Chat Noir,” she greeted without turning around. He started, then lightly jumped down next to her.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I had a feeling you might come around tonight,” she explained. She stared at him with an odd degree of scrutiny that made him feel uncomfortable. He shied away slightly.

“So…how was school today?” he asked cautiously, leaning against the railing next to her.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she stopped peering at him so intently. Instead she looked down at her hands. “It was…better,” she confessed.

“Oh? Anything…interesting happen?”

“Well, Lila was up to her usual tricks all day. But…a friend came to my rescue.” She gave a soft smile. A _real_ smile. And Chat felt his heart glow at the sight and knowing he was the cause, even if she didn’t.

“Must be a good friend,” he noted, finding himself smiling as well. 

Marinette looked up and met his eyes, which made him shiver more than he cared to admit. “The best,” she corrected.

He felt heat creep into his face. But _that_ wouldn’t do. He couldn’t let her see how those words affected him. So he turned and looked out over the city for a moment, willing the heat to recede before it turned into a full blush and he gave himself away.

Next to him, Marinette took a deep breath. “Thank you,” she said.

He turned back to her. She was looking at him in that odd way again. He felt giddy and uncertain. Something was off. To cover his flustered state, he grinned his trade-mark Chat Noir grin and bowed with a sweeping motion of his arm. “Glad to have been of service, my lady,” he crooned. Then he straightened with more seriousness. “I just…wish I could have done more,” he said honestly.

“You did plenty. Last night…and today.”

His eyes rounded wide and he froze. “To—today—you mean this evening, my lady?” he covered.

She actually giggled, covering her mouth. She seemed nervous. “No. I mean today, at school.”

His heart hammered in his ribcage. Did she mean—was she insinuating…She couldn’t. She didn’t. She couldn’t. His mouth opened to form some kind of disarming response, but his brain could not catch up and he stood there, mouth gaping like a fish.

Marinette closed the distance between them and lightly kissed his cheek. “Your secret is safe with me, Adrien,” she whispered.

He gripped her arms before she could pull back. “Marinette,” he breathed, hardly knowing what he was saying. “I’m not—I mean, you can’t—” He should deny it. He should play dumb. But his panic was mixed with a thrill of elation that he couldn’t fight. Of all the people he wanted to know, she was at the top of the list. And she was looking at him with so much trust. He should deny it. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

His mouth closed on his denial. He could feel his heart thud like a drum and could swear it must be audible to all of Paris.

“It’s ok,” she said, slipping out of his grasp and taking his hands in hers instead.

Chat Noir—Adrien—looked down at their clasped hands. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the blood pumping loudly in his ears. “Claws in,” he said softly. He watched as his black, clawed hands turned into his regular ones, all the while holding Marinette’s.

Her breath hitched in a sharp intake. Bracing himself, he looked up into her eyes. Despite her knowing words, her eyes were round with surprise, as if she still hadn’t quite expected it to be him, even after all this.

Plagg chose that moment to make himself known to her as well.

“Well this is a surprise,” he drawled. Then he turned back to Adrien. “Camembert?”

“Pocket,” Adrien said distractedly, and Plagg disappeared from view. “Marinette,” Adrien repeated, trying again, but again words failed him. “I don’t know what to say,” he confessed at last. “How did you know?”

“Well…you—Adrien—knew about the text messages, which only Chat Noir has seen, for starters.” Oh. He cringed. Oops. “And Adrien and Chat said a lot of the same things trying to undo Lila’s words. And…well,” she blushed faintly, “you both… _perch_ the same way.”

Adrien started again, then laughed. “So I should avoid _perching_ as Adrien, then?”

“I’d advise against it.”

His laugh faded to a nervous chuckle. “You know Ladybug’s going to kill me when she finds out I let my identity slip.”

That got another laugh out of her. He’d missed her laugh. He hadn’t realized how few times he’d heard it over the last month. She squeezed his hands, then released them. He had to fight the urge to latch on more tightly, but he let her pull back.

“No, she won’t,” she said, with a _smirk_ of all things. “Because...well.” She grabbed her purse at her side. She hesitated a long moment, then opened it. Nothing happened. “It’s ok,” she repeated, but this time it didn’t seem like she was talking to him. “Please, Tikki.”

And the last thing in the world he expected flew out of her purse—a kwami.

A red kwami with black spots.

Ladybug’s kwami.

“I hope you know what you’re doing Marinette,” the kwami said. But she smiled while she said it. Then she floated down through the floor to give them some privacy. Plagg followed her through the floor with a burp.

“You,” Adrien breathed, “You’re…”

“Surprise.”

“Ladybug.”

He grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace, holding her long and hard. She wrapped her arms around him and held him just as tight.

They stayed like that for a long time. Adrien could barely breathe. He was holding Marinette. He was holding _Ladybug._ He was holding Marinette _and_ Ladybug. It was his heart’s most secret desire.

“You’re not…” Marinette began, but her voice trailed off, muffled into his chest.

He never wanted to let go, but he pulled back. Just far enough that he could see her face. “Not what?” he asked.

She swallowed hard, fear written across her face. “Disappointed?” she muttered at last, looking down.

“Disa—” he choked on the word. Disappointed? How could she _think—_

He put his hand on the side of her head and gently drew her face up. Then he kissed her.

It was brief, but even so his mind was a hazy fog by the time he released her. But he had to give her an answer. “Never,” he promised. His hand was still on the side of her face. Shakily, he let it drop, afraid of her reaction, but he stayed close to her.

She sighed and fell into him, which he took as permission to hold her again as he let out the breath he’d been holding, heart fit to burst.

A small ping from Marinette’s purse made Adrien tighten his hold on her, but Marinette actually gave a short laugh and ignored it.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. And this time, those words had an entirely different meaning. She relaxed further into his hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go. The conclusion of my first Ladybug fanfiction, as well as my first fanfiction on Archive of Our Own. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~Syd


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